Paisley Emigration Society – Scottish Colonisation Company.

[Janette]

There is an article here that includes the D of A

https://suite101.com/a/from-scotland-to-new-zealand-the-early-auckland-settlers-a395638

Cheers Janette

[Fresh Fields]

Good morning Angela.

RE my PM and your above post. If that is all the info you have, GREAT and we will go from there, however all the little bits of info you have, or even assumptions you have, could be clues to help the direction that others offering help can go to looking for supporting info from their archive sources.

In my PM to you I assumed that your family roots were either locally [greater environs of Glasgow] raised, or recently moved to the industrialization of greater Glasgow looking for work.

If locally raised the STATISTICAL ACCOUNTS OF SCOTLAND 1790's and again 1830's record the life and times of each parish through the eyes of it's ministry, and can be very informative and at times quite funny in today's context. Covering a slightly later period is the RAMBLES OF GLASGOW by Hugh MacDONALD 1854, and there are others on other localities.

Where you experience difficulty finding family in the OPR [pre civil 1855 records] it is possible that they were one of the many families or individuals who frequently moved between Ireland and Scotland seeking work; or they were members of some of the smaller faiths / churches, who's records have not survived as well. That was the generation of the breakaway and FREE CHURCH formations.

There are very active Family History / Genealogy groups based in Glasgow, Lanarkshire [Hamilton] and Renfrewshire [Paisley] all who may hold info. I also note the mention of the Isle of Sky in your PM. If you feel that the family had connections there before moving Clydeside and emigrating, there is another avenue for your research.

Ewing is a name of substance in the greater Glasgow area and appears in quite a few family lines as a second given name, even when not directly related.

- Alan.

[loobylooayr]

Hi,
I've been reading this thread with great interest and my interest was piqued even more by the name Isaac McEwan as I have an Isaac McEwan in my family tree, although mine was Irish and came to Scotland in 1860s and never left .

But I had a quick look on Freecen at the Scottish 1841 Census and found this entry-

Factory Court, Bridgeton, Glasgow.
   THOMSON       Andw       M       40       Baker        Lanarkshire           
  THOMSON       Margt (Mrs)       F       40               Outside Census County            
  THOMSON       Agnes       F       13               Lanarkshire           
 THOMSON       Andw       M       9               Lanarkshire           
 THOMSON       Angus       M       6               Lanarkshire           
 THOMSON       Wm       M       3               Lanarkshire           
 BOWMAN       Janet       F       20       Female Servant        Outside Census County         
 MCEWAN       Isacc       M       15       Apprentice        Lanarkshire           
  RANKINE       Joseph       M       14       Apprentice        Lanarkshire           
 MCMILLAN       Jane       F       30               Outside Census County         
 
All spellings are as transcribed on www.freecen.org.uk
This looks good for the young couple on The Duchess of Argyle. I know that Isaac's age is a bit out but that was common to be a bit economical with the truth (and in many cases people had actually no idea what their true age was )

Looby
    
        

[Kiwigirl]

Thank you Looby that is great.  Yes I know ages can be "strange" shall we say.
Thank you for your help.
Angela

[loobylooayr]

No problem Angela.

[Kiwigirl]

I have been reading about the voyages of people from Scotland and England to New Zealand in the 1840's -1880's and some of the accounts are quite scary.  I wonder how big was the barque The Duchess of Argyle and The Jane Gifford?

Angela

[Fresh Fields]

Hello.

The reported tonages of the two sailing ships was:-
Duchess of Argyle 667 tons  [172 men 171 women & 192 children.]
Jane Gifford 558 tons.
On the long journey out there were  34 deaths & 16 births.
[THE FIRST FLEET OF AUCKLAND by Darry McCARTHY.]

There are some well circulated / reproduced drawings of the two vessels. Copies of which I expect you will be able to find on either the Auckland Library or the Auckland Museum sites. They have been used many times in publications about early Auckland.

- Alan.

[Kiwigirl]

Thanks Alan, but I wonder how long were they - how wide?  I'm trying to imagine their size - how big are they compared to....

Angela

[Janette]

There is a painting here that gives you some idea as to how small it was

http://www.seapainter.com/Duchess_of_Argyle.Auckland.html

Cheers Janette